Two days after the record-setting blizzard, towns and cities struggled to return to normal.

Most state roads across the region were cleared of snow Sunday afternoon, but secondary roads in many towns were still snow covered, making travel difficult.

School has been canceled today across the state and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy once again asked non-essential state workers to stay home. He also urged those in the private sector to work from home where possible to keep traffic to a minimum and allow cleanup efforts on roads to continue unhampered.

President Barack Obama on Sunday signed an emergency declaration for Connecticut, offering federal resources to supplement efforts by state and local officials to rebound from Winter Storm Nemo’s impact.

The U.S. Postal Service said mail delivery will resume today after being halted across New England over the weekend because of unsafe conditions. Customers are asked to clear their mailboxes and walkways of snow and ice to help letter carries avoid falls.

All University of Connecticut campuses are closed today, but dining and residential halls will remain in operation, school officials said.

The Department of Motor Vehicles won’t open any offices until Wednesday morning at 7:45. A DMV spokesman said deadlines for any permits, registrations and other time-sensitive requirements have been extended “until further notice.”

Norwich Free Academy and the city’s public schools both canceled classes for today,

“With the rain forecast, I am concerned about the temperatures dropping in the morning. This will also give (Norwich Public Works) more time to clear the streets and buses, and students will have better access,” Norwich Superintendent Abby Dolliver said in an email.

A new concern also emerged Sunday, with an anticipated half-inch of rain in today’s forecast that could put more weight on snow laden roofs.

However, high winds may help keep potential roof damage to a minimum by blowing away much of the heavy snow that has settled since Friday, Montville Emergency Management Director Ray Occhialini said.

Clogged culverts are another concern today.

Norwich Emergency Management Director Gene Arters said catch basins are buried under many inches of snow, “so you’re not going to have drainage on the highways.”

Sprague First Selectman Cathy Osten said town officials are bracing for localized flooding, and will continue to use heavy machinery to remove snow from smaller roads.

“I’m very, very concerned about rain tomorrow. It will lead to localized flooding, because most of our catch basins are under snow,” she said Sunday.

Malloy echoed that in a Sunday night press conference, urging people to drive carefully because of the amount of snow piled on the side of roads. He urged drivers to slow down, noting that today’s rain “will turn the snow piled on the sides of roads into Jersey barriers.”

Page 2 of 2 - Colchester Public Works Director Jim Paggioli said the town avoided any major infrastructure damage, and most of its 100-mile road network should be mostly cleared by this morning.

But plowing this amount of snow creates high piles at intersections obstructing drivers’ view of oncoming traffic.

“We’re still going to be doing a lot of sight line work, but the idea (on Sunday) was to make things safe for traffic,” Paggioli said.

Friday’s blizzard dumped between 27 and 31 inches in towns across the region, presenting an extraordinary challenge for those tasked with removing it.

At noon on Sunday, Darryle Koch of Jewett City-based American Industries maneuvered a large backhoe along Route 82 in Norwich to widen the road for motorists and carve out a walkway for pedestrians.

“We’ve been out here since Friday morning and haven’t been home since,” said Rich Russo of Bozrah, a state Department of Transportation supervisor overseeing Sunday’s snow removal. “Within the next day or so, we should have a pretty good grab on it.”

Norwich, which has been under a state of emergency since Friday afternoon, is slowly returning to normal.

Crews spent most of Sunday clearing downtown roads in effort to get the city’s commercial district back online by this morning.

“We diverted resources to the downtown in the hopes of getting it up and running. I think we’re in fairly good shape,” Public Works Director Barry Ellison said.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, Franklin Street was still difficult to navigate, with motorists slipping and getting stuck in a slushy layer of snow. Market Street was covered in more than a foot of snow early Sunday afternoon, though a dump truck full of dirt was waiting to coat the ground once a plow pushed through.

In front of the Spirit of Broadway Theater, a sign sent a message to city workers: Norwich Plows Help Please.

Ellison said many of his drivers worked through the night – sometimes two of them – to stay ahead of the snowfall.

“We had to give the guys some rest. Some worked 39 hours straight,” he said.

Mary-Beth Sobel, who lives on Wightman Avenue, said her street was clean on Sunday.